Giants sell Shimizu to Lions

by Jim Allen (Nov 16, 2008)

A day after completing a big four-player trade, Yomiuri continued to
make changes on Saturday, agreeing to sell veteran outfielder Takayuki
Shimizu to the Saitama Seibu Lions.

The 35-year-old left-handed hitter with 1,402 career hits has been
reduced to coming off manager Tatsunori Hara's bench the past two
seasons.

Starting from his 1996 rookie season, Shimizu had 11 consecutive
100-plus game seasons. With a career batting average of .291, Shimizu
gives the primarily right-handed-hitting PL champs some depth off the
bench.